Beijing Xiangshan Forum Highlights AI Security Concerns

China’s primary annual defense event, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, took place from Tuesday to Thursday this week. A significant topic among the nearly 2,000 participants was the potential security risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The forum, now in its 13th year, is promoted by China as a platform for “small and medium-sized countries” to express their views on defense matters. Established in 2006 in response to the prominent Shangri-La Dialogue by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, there is notable overlap in attendees between the two events.

While most participants at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum hailed from Asian countries, representatives from other regions attended as well. This year’s discussions even featured a heated exchange between Saudi Arabian and Iranian officials concerning Iran’s aggressive actions against its Middle Eastern neighbors.

The United States was represented at the forum with a delegation led by Brig. Gen. Stacy Kihara, a senior defense official from the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun called for nations to “avoid provocative acts” and to address “latent manifestations of hegemony, militarism, and historical revisionism.” It can be inferred that his comments were indirectly aimed at Japan, which China has warned against given recent remarks by Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae about Japan potentially responding to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

With these regional tensions in mind, many forum attendees voiced concerns about technology-related issues such as drone warfare and AI. A prevalent worry was that advancements in AI and drone technology might accelerate warfare, shortening the timeframe for human decision-making and increasing the chance of escalation.

“Artificial Intelligence accelerates decisions while disinformation and misinformation can fracture public trust before governments are even able to respond effectively,” remarked Pakistani Defense Secretary Muhammad Ali.

From the International Committee of the Red Cross, Vice President Jurg Lauber noted, “As weapon systems become increasingly autonomous, the need to preserve human judgment and control over the use of force becomes more pressing.”

Singapore’s Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing stated, “The technology race is heating up, be it in artificial intelligence, space, or robotics,” stressing that significant advancements now occur in “days, not years.”

He further posed an important question: “How do we strengthen our own security without weakening the security of others, or without aggravating the insecurity of others?”

Participants at the Chinese forum were interested in whether there would be further developments on military technology discussions during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the U.S. for meetings with President Donald Trump on September 24.

Dong, in his address, encouraged nations to “actively engage in security dialogue in areas including artificial intelligence, outer space, and the deep sea.” He, along with other Chinese officials such as Vice President Han Zheng, expressed a desire for global governance regulations concerning emerging technologies like AI. Recently, the U.S. raised allegations against China for extensive theft of AI technology from American firms—an accusation that China has refuted.